MYSTERIES OF THE WEEK: Of course, I'd be the first one to harp about
gratuitous space battles, but this episode drifted a bit too far into the "Tell,
Don't Show" school of storytelling. It might have been nice to get at least a glimpse
of Tyr's daring raid, but instead we're left to wonder exactly how he could have pulled
off this heist against the Drago-Katzov pride, who are apparently the top dogs among the
Nietzscheans. It might have been nice to see a little bit of Beka's cunning in eluding
dozens of Drago-Katzov ships, but instead we only hear about it. And just how is Tyr is
going to get that big coffin aboard Andromeda without Hunt noticing that he's
bringing contraband (and attack-bait) aboard? Hunt's a little out of it, but I think he
can put the pieces together and figure out that Tyr took it from the Drago-Katzov and that
they will want it back. Most important, whatever happened to smart bullets? Those trees
took a beating...

COMMONWEALTH UNINTELLIGENCE OF THE WEEK: So Hunt doesn't want to raise
cash by using the Andromeda to mine or run cargo, presumably because it's
undignified and contrary to the ideals of the Commonwealth. How dignified was it in "The Pearls That Were His Eyes" for Hunt to conduct a garage
sale so that he could barter for substandard parts? Our captain remains a
borderline-delusional figure in serious need of a reality check. In fact, that seems to be
the one thread that runs consistently through every episode aired so far. Hunt's crusade
seems almost doomed to fail, because even when he doesn't outright fail (as in "A Rose in the Ashes," in which he's jailed for even
suggesting that the Commonwealth be resurrected, and "All
Great Neptune's Ocean" in which one of two member worlds is plunged into civil
war), he seems dead-set against even trying to adapt to the reality of his post-Fall
circumstances. Ideals are fine, but the fact is that Hunt can't bring back the
Commonwealth if Andromeda's people don't have the resources to obtain supplies or
if they refuse to make some compromises and deal with some seedy characters at certain
junctures. It's almost as if this series is being written so that viewers expect the
hero's failure, which may be novel, but I don't know if it's sustainable. Incidently,
getting back to the specifics of this episode, it does appear that Tyr's lady friend got
one of Hunt's sanctimonious speeches offscreen; why else would she choose continued
indentured servitude for herself and her stepson instead of going to the Andromeda?

WELFARE RECIPIENTS OF THE WEEK: It's not just unauthorized vacations
anymore, it's an outright evacuation, as half the cast is absent this week, unless you
count the various clip show flashbacks. But the good news is that Andromeda's
Powers That Be seem to have stumbled onto a way to get around the looming actors' strike;
at this rate, the second season can be produced entirely without actors...

M.S.T. MOMENT OF THE WEEK: Raise your hands: Who shouted "I am
Kirok!" at the end of the teaser when Tyr asked what his name was? But seriously, how
tired is the "Amnesiac Hero Doing Good Things for the Local Yokels" yarn? Sure,
there's a slightly different spin on it here, but combined with all of the other cliches,
sci-fi and other, such as "Local Yokel Kid Seeks Revenge for the Death of His
Father," "Crooked Local Yokel Finks Out the Good Guys; Gets Zipped by the
Baddies," the Ewok tree trick, and even a Star Trek Shuttle Crash (complete
with Magical Repair), it really seems like there's nothing new here.

LAUGH LINE OF THE WEEK: "I...will...never...surrender!"
Anyone not thinking Kirk in the teaser had to be by this point...